Final grades for fall sports teams

For some, the start of finals week means spending hours upon hours studying for exams and working on projects, pulling all-night cram sessions and drinking enough caffeine to drown an elephant. For Pitt’s student-athletes, this period marks the end of their regular seasons of play — when they examine the fruits of their labors of the last few months. 

The 2024 iteration of Pitt fall sports is one to remember, with multiple teams setting school and national rankings and plenty of memories to reminisce over for years to come. 

It’s time to stack up all of Pitt’s fall athletic teams and grade their performances this season. While it won’t affect anyone’s GPA, sports certainly impact campus morale and will exist as part of the teams’ permanent records forever. 

Volleyball: A+

Enough said. Pitt’s volleyball program has cemented itself among the nation’s best in recent years, and this season was no different. The Panthers finished the regular season 29-1 and dominated their schedule with six victories over top 10 opponents, including sweeps of No. 13 Oregon, No. 4 Penn State and No. 6 Stanford. 

The team enters the postseason with a No. 1 ranking, ACC championship, top seed in the NCAA tournament and a plethora of national and conference awards up and down the roster. Pretty much every accolade and championship is in the players’ grasps, and the only thing left to do is get over the hump and claim their place as national champions. 

Men’s Soccer: A- 

This year’s season for Pitt men’s soccer is one of the most successful in program history. The team held the No. 1 spot in the country for a few weeks, which marked the first time that two Pitt teams held simultaneous No. 1 rankings in school history. 

For the first time in program history, the Panthers also secured a regular season ACC title. The Panthers currently sit as a two-seed in the NCAA tournament and have advanced to the Elite Eight. 

The reason soccer’s grade takes a small hit is due to a few head-scratching losses throughout the season, to Penn, Cal and Virginia, which eliminated them in the ACC tournament. Still, the Panthers advanced to the Elite Eight and still have chances to rectify their mistakes and deliver a championship to the city of Pittsburgh. 

Football: B-

If this article gave a mid-term grade, the team would have earned an A. However, the Panthers had the opposite of an academic comeback as the team dropped their final five games of the season. 

The 7-0 start of the season was the best since 1982. Highlights included comeback wins over rivals Cincinnati and West Virginia and a five-interception drubbing of Syracuse. However, a blowout loss at SMU and two heartbreakers against Virginia and Clemson upended the Panthers’ amazing start to the season, leaving many fans scorned and upset.

A combination of injuries to Pitt’s star talent handcuffed their offense, and the defense struggled to keep up with the offenses that the team faced. This offseason is shaping up as another critical juncture in the program, and head coach Pat Narduzzi’s seat is certainly sizzling up. 

Women’s Soccer: C

After a 2023 season that saw women’s soccer reach the Elite Eight, expectations were certainly high for the program. National pundits agreed, as the team sat high in the rankings early. 

An early loss to Buffalo set the tone for the season, as the team dropped head-scratchers and blowouts to top teams. By the time the season ended, the Panthers found themselves at 9-6-3 and missing the NCAA tournament just a year after reaching their best result in program history. 

While the season wasn’t awful by any means, the mediocre result reflects a mediocre grade, especially given the team’s expectations heading into the year. 

Cross Country: C-

This fall saw a largely underwhelming output from the cross-country team. In all of the team’s events, they never finished anywhere above fifth. The ACC tournament was particularly brutal, as both the women’s and men’s teams finished near the bottom of the conference. 

While they turned in a solid performance in the regional tournaments, with both teams finishing seventh, it was not enough to get to the national tournament, and the season abruptly ended there.